Sanders, a critic of secret money in politics, won't call on group supporting him to disclose donors

[highplainsdem]

From the Washington Post via MSN.com:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/elections-2020/sanders-a-critic-of-secret-money-in-politics-declines-to-call-on-a-group-supporting-him-to-disclose-its-donors/ar-BBZ9Y7Q

CONCORD, N.H. —In early December, about 100 activists aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gathered in South Bend, Ind., the home turf of rival candidate Pete Buttigieg. They held up signs touting Medicare-for-all and other signature Sanders proposals. One accused Buttigieg of neglecting African Americans. Another said it was crucial for Sanders to win the election.

This was not a Sanders campaign event. It was a rally staged by Our Revolution, a nonprofit founded by the senator that has caused some awkwardness for him in his second run for president. While the group is supporting his candidacy, it accepts large donations without fully disclosing who made them, a practice at odds with his calls for greater transparency and stated desire to curtail the power of the wealthy in elections.

Sanders was questioned about the group’s practices here Sunday, when he said in a radio interview he would “have no problem” with the group opting to provide more information about its donors. But he suggested he would not call on its leaders to do so while his opponents continue to rely on similar organizations.

-snip-

Over the past year, Our Revolution has hosted Iowa town halls, organized post card writing in early states in support of Sanders’s candidacy and gone knocking on doors. The South Bend rally was one of its highest-profile events.

The group raises money through email appeals, not pricey fundraisers, and largely through small contributions, said Fabian, noting its average donation in 2018 was about $20. Less than 10 percent of the group’s work is electoral, according to Fabian. The issues it focuses on overlap heavily with Sanders’s platform.

Federal law requires nonprofits to disclose large donations — though not donor names — in tax filings, which Our Revolution does. The group also lists on its website the names of donors who gave more than $250. But it does not provide specific amounts the donors gave, and contributors who wish to remain anonymous are obscured — for example, a donor whose name is listed as “Anonymous Anonymous.”

“Voters don’t get the information they deserve, simply as a result of a group creating its own disclosure regime it imposes on itself,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause.

Sometimes, the line between Our Revolution and Sanders has blurred, such as when Sanders participated in a conference call with the group’s members.

And some of Sanders’s allies have shown up on the campaign’s rolls as well as the group’s leadership. Among them is Nina Turner, a national co-chair of the Sanders campaign who was paid nearly $200,000 by Our Revolution and served as president before stepping down to join the campaign.

[Cha]

1. KR!!!!!!

[Thekaspervote]

2. thx highplainsdem...we need to keep the truth of things front and center

[NCProgressive]

3. It is disgusting

[The Valley Below]

4. Our Revolution is just a wing of the Sanders campaign.

The groups activities violate campaign finance laws and tax laws.

Yet there is zero enforcement.

[Thekaspervote]

5. This!

[Gothmog]

6. Our Revolution is a dark money super pac

Link to tweet

[NurseJackie]

7. That seems to be a big hypocritical.

Sanders, a critic of secret money in politics, won't call on group supporting him to disclose donors

That seems to be a big hypocritical.